


It's a Simple Question, My Prince

by Pseudthisyafucks (collettephinz)



Category: Youtube RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, M/M, Magic, Princes & Princesses, Sex, Vikingr and Gauls and those Blasted Britons, called draíocht and magi respectively, courting, haha look at that letty's all grown up, historical inclusion for ease of world building, some fibbed magical aspect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 19:59:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15803550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collettephinz/pseuds/Pseudthisyafucks
Summary: Fanny had spent hours in Felix’s room preparing for this and talking Felix’s ear off about the legend of Prince Seán’s handsomeness. “I just worry that he’ll be used to someone— darker.” She had been talking about her own blond hair, of course, that their subjects liked to believe was spun from rays of the sun or filaments of the golden wights. “What if he prefers women of his own land?” The Gauls were less fair and more ragged, with dark hair and dark eyes and hands as rough as the weapons they made.Felix hadn’t given a shit then, and he didn’t give a shit now.





	It's a Simple Question, My Prince

**Author's Note:**

> wow look at me writing everything except what i should be

The party was in full swing, dancers spinning in choreographed circles across the marble floor, partners hand in hand, stepping carefully like they’d been practicing for the months leading up to this celebration of long-term peace and partnership. 

Felix sort of hated it, but he felt lucky to know he wasn’t in his sister’s seat. As she was the crowned princess, she had duties to fulfill. People to greet with their exact names and statuses, even though she’d never met them. History lessons to dredge up in her memory so she could understand the delicate cultural differences. She also had to be on the lookout for a possible courtship, an adequate man that would help her produce an heir for the Vikingr lineage. Fanny had her eyes set on one person in particular— Prince Seán McLoughlin of the Gauls, a fierce young man that was around Felix and Fanny’s age that was known for his strategic ability in battle and energetic temperance in the court. 

Felix had never met the man. Neither had Fanny. Fanny was five minutes his elder. They’d only just turned eighteen, and neither of them actually knew Seán’s age. But Felix was pretty sure the ages for courtship were different in Gaul ruling than Vikingr, so maybe it’d be fine. 

Felix sat in his lesser dress throne, his parents tittering between each other to his right, and watched the colorfully dressed dancers twirl and spin. He remembered the dancing lessons he’d been forced to take. Something about the prince never actually being useless and needing to save face. Felix had gotten dizzy after hours of spinning and had gotten sick on the shoes of his teacher. Granted, he’d been ten. But that was also the last time he’d been really required to learn. 

He snatched idly at the fabric of his uniform, the velvet stitching being of the best quality, but still annoying compared to the looser clothing Felix normally wore. Since he was never intended for the throne, he hadn’t intended to be much of anything in the progress. He didn’t like court work, memorizing all of the laws and garbage like that. He was supposed to be some sort of religious whatever since he wasn’t to be crowned. He didn’t enjoy that either.

Felix liked hunting. He liked being in the trees. He liked riding horseback and he liked swimming in the cool waters of his homeland. He liked running in the nights with wights and blessed creatures, surviving only by the light of the gods. He liked outwitting trolls and watching them tumble together. He liked lazing in the ocean with mermaids and learning their songs. He preferred befriending Älva and Alf over any nobleman. He enjoyed not having a responsibility and he liked being able to ditch the stuffiness of the stone halls in favor of the open air of the mountains and fields. And he liked the people he met outside of the royal city than those within. 

A round of applause startled Felix from his yearning for the trees of the forest beyond. He sat up straight and tried to hide the way he was stretching his shoulders. Felix’s father gave Felix a sidelong glare of admonishment that Felix ignored. 

On the floor, the dancers parted down the middle, and they bowed low. At the other end of the extravagant room— that had way too much red and purple and silk and gold for Felix’s eyes— the King of the Gauls made his entrance. He stood, proud and regal, a long, blue cape made of wool stretching behind him. He had a huge, scraggly beard, and his gaze was severe. Most of the onlookers in the court were arrest by him and his stance, but Felix wasn’t. He’d met King John McLoughlin before, he wasn’t very disturbed by the man who had hands larger than Felix’s face and a story of killing hundreds with said hands. The Gauls hadn’t been an enemy of the Vikingr in over five decades. There was no reason for Felix to fear this man. 

This would be the first time he would ever meet Prince Seán, though. Same for Fanny, and for his parents. Prince Seán had been around, had fought in his own battles against the Britons, had played enemies and led victories, but had never been royally presented. Felix wasn’t exactly excited for it. He didn’t even see this Prince Seán with King John. 

Fanny had spent hours in Felix’s room preparing for this and talking Felix’s ear off about the legend of Prince Seán’s handsomeness. “I just worry that he’ll be used to someone— darker.” She had been talking about her own blond hair, of course, that their subjects liked to believe was spun from rays of the sun or filaments of the golden wights. “What if he prefers women of his own land?” The Gauls were less fair and more ragged, with dark hair and dark eyes and hands as rough as the weapons they made. 

Felix hadn’t given a shit then, and he didn’t give a shit now. He didn’t want to have to watch his sister try to attract some guy that Felix was sure she’d be pushed into a marriage with regardless. Why would it matter to her if he was attractive? She was going to have an heir with him anyways. The Gauls were the longest standing ally of the Vikingr. They couldn’t afford to choose anyone else. 

King John approached the throne, ducked his head in the lowest bow he would ever give. Felix’s parents did the same, showing their respect to the extent they were able. “King Ulf,” Kong John said in his deep voice. “And Queen Lotta. I present to thee, my offspring— Crowned Prince Seán.”

There was the sound of trumpets, cued by King John’s announcement. Felix watched with a bored expression as nothing happened. No one appeared at the doors at the other end of the hall, no one came down the floor to approach the floor. The trumpets sounded to announce no one. There was a low murmur of disbelief through the crowd. King Ulf narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 

King John held the moment for a second longer before letting out a booming laugh. “Unfortunately, my son has decided that he would rather announce himself on his own turns! I’m sure you understand, of course. He has to judge his battlegrounds before setting foot into the battle itself. He’s a smart boy.” King John smiled, obviously pleased with Prince Seán’s plot. He’d even played along. Felix had to cover his mouth to keep anyone from seeing the sudden grin that was trying to quirk his lips. “He will attend, do not you worry. You just may not know it’s him immediately.”

Felix’s parents were slightly amused, and they didn’t protest. King Ulf just sighed and sent King John a look of fond patience. He was probably much more used to King John’s games than anyone else. They’d overthrown the warring kings of the Gauls and Vikingr together, after all. They were followed by years of kinship. “I eagerly await the introduction,” King Ulf said. Then he waved his hand in the air and the dancing began again. 

King John approached the throne and King Ulf came down from his seat to sit on the steps beside King John. Felix took that as his cue to leave. He got up out of his own little throne and left the hall, stealing to the balcony so he could finally get some fresh air. The night outside was cool and helped calm the restlessness that was crawling beneath his skin. He looked up at the sky and frowned at how the lights inside the castle were keeping him from seeing the stars. 

No problem there. Felix stood on the ledge of the balcony and used it to reach the arching roof above, pulling himself onto the ceramic tiling that was at least two hundred years older than him. He easily went up the side the arched roof, climbing to the peak. Up here, away from the fires and lights, he could clearly see the stars. He could see the city below, colorful and bright. He could see the woods beyond and the long ocean stretching out at the other side, the mountain peaks that pierced the sky. He could see the twirl and rise of wights into the sky, signifying some celebration of their own. He could even see a blessed owl fly over his head, the blue glowing from his feathers like another star.

He could see the cloaked figure that was at the other end of the roof, crouched low, looking down at the lights of the party. 

Felix sunk to lie flush against the roof, crawling across the tile silently. Years in the forest, amongst the elder creatures, had taught him how to move without making a noise. He approached the figure, taking the simple knife that was meant for skinning hides, from the back of his shoe. He reached the cloaked figure without being heard. Felix held his breath, waited for the opportune moment when the figure was bending down lower for a better view, and then he struck. He wrapped his arm around the figure’s neck and yanked them back, twisting his own legs around the figure’s knee. Felix held the blade just above the figure’s wide, blue eyes. 

“State your business,” he whispered, holding tight even as the figure failed to struggle. 

“Gaul party, I’m with King John,” the figure said. It was a man, looking to be around Felix’s age, with wavy, dark hair and full lips. There was scruff along his chin and jaw and above his lips. He went limp against Felix, surrendering immediately. “I’m keeping watch on my king, that is all. I never intended any harm.”

Felix narrowed his eyes in suspicion and didn’t let up, though he recognized the accent of the Gauls in this man’s voice. “If I were to take you to King John himself, what would he say?”

“He’d probably be impressed that you got the jump on me.” The man, oddly, grinned. “I’m supposed t’ be one of his best. Who are ye’?”

“Would he speak in your favor?” Felix demanded, tightening his grip around the man’s neck. “Or would he allow you to be condemned?”

“Fucking hell, he’d speak in favor, speak in favor.” The man was watching the knife just above his iris with trepidation. “Really, who are ye’? I didn’t even hear you? Does King Ulf have some secret military training? How are ye’ so quiet? Or are you a traitor yourself?”

“I’m the prince,” Felix snapped. “And I’m not afraid to skewer you if I find out you’re lying.”

There was a pause. “You’re the _prince?_ Prince Felix?”

“You sound surprised.”

“I got snuck up on by Prince Felix,” the man said in near reverence. Then, “I’m Jack. I am the right hand of King John. If ye’ bring me to him, he’ll speak in my favor and then laugh in my face for being overtaken by the prince himself. I mean you and your kingdom no harm.”

Felix wasn’t sure if he was entirely trustworthy yet, but he also didn’t want to be responsible for the resurgence of a war if this really was King John’s right hand. And this man hadn’t even tried to fight Felix. Felix debated with himself for a moment longer before releasing the man. The man— Jack— went limp even more so, lying across Felix with a breathless laugh. “God, you are so much more than I expected.”

Felix flushed at the underhanded praise, ignoring the body heat of this man. He was, admittedly, handsome, and Felix had given up the crown happily for a reason. Felix couldn’t be king when he couldn’t produce an heir, as his body didn’t respond to women like it did to men. And Felix hadn’t been safe to give in to his desires in months now, so the weight of this man atop him was an unwelcome pleasure. Felix quickly wormed out from beneath him and tucked his knife away. He stood tall atop the roof, glowering down at Jack. “Why were you spying if you mean no harm?”

Jack looked up at Felix from the roof, limbs splayed out, the moon reflecting off his blue eyes like they were their own kinds of light. Felix’s mouth went dry as Jack looked up at him with more of that same reverence he’d had in his voice. “I was overtaken by the fucking prince,” Jack said again with an awed smile. “By god, this country is in good hands. And I— I am very impressed. And a little intrigued.” There was a playful waggle of the brow. “What are ye’ doing on the roof, my prince? Aren’t you meant to be below with the rest of them?”

“I hate that shit,” Felix said thoughtlessly. “I was supposed to be out there.” Felix looked to the woods beyond. “I had a hunt scheduled, as harvest is coming and the Älves and Alf enjoy knowing royalty hasn’t forgotten them. I was meant to be out there until suddenly this whole meeting was arranged. I still don’t understand why I am meant to attend. It’s not like Prince Seán will be courting me.”

“He might,” Jack replied with an impish smile. At Felix’s look of incredulity, Jack shrugged. “Prince Seán has been known for following his heart more than his head. And lately, his heart is favoring the harder sex a little more than the fairer.”

Felix went red and was grateful for the darkness of the night to keep Jack from seeing. “He will do no such thing.”

“You wish to be in the woods,” Jack said. “On a hunt. Are ye’ good with a bow?”

“The best,” Felix said. “But don’t tell anyone. The King and Queen don’t appreciate raising a violent prince when we’re meant to be at peace. It could give the wrong impression. I get into a lot more of the— the more hedonistic side of our past out there. And I sometimes need to protect myself.”

“There’s nothing wrong in being prepared,” Jack said.

“Exactly!”

Jack grinned wider. “Come with me into the woods. Show me how to hunt in these lands and show me your _draíocht_. I’ve always been more comfortable by the side of a fire, anyways. Why do you think I was watching from above? I hate this just as much as you, I would think.”

Felix hesitated. The appeal was there, but, “My parents are expecting me the following day.”

“We’ll be back before the sun can fully rise.”

Felix narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You’re eager. And how do I know I can trust you? What if you’re just this eager to get me alone so you can murder me?”

“And rid the world of a beauty like yours? Even a man such as me is incapable of such cruelty.”

Felix suddenly realized he was being flirted with. “What do you have to gain?” he asked. “I am nothing. Purposeless. I will not receive a crown. I’ll likely fade into nonexistence. What do you stand to gain in spending time with me, when you could very well be protecting your king?”

Jack snorted. “I hardly see spending time with a man like you as a waste.” Jack finally got up, standing tall. He was just an inch or so shorter than Felix, but he carried himself like he was a giant. And he was gorgeous. Aloof and comfortable in his skin, wearing his features like he knew the appeal and thought little of its practical usage. He was an earthly kind of beauty. Felix enjoyed looking, and, if the flirting really was what Felix thought it to be, he felt he was being invited to look. When Felix finished his once-over of Jack, he looked up to meet Jack’s eyes and found another grin. “Like what ye’ see?” Jack asked.

Felix couldn’t get any redder. “I don’t know what you—”

“I’m harmless, my prince,” Jack said, softening his tone. “I would never sell you.”

Felix couldn’t relax. He worried his lip between his teeth. “I’ll take you on a hunt,” he said. “The stables are closed and we likely wouldn’t be able to sneak out without raising a fuss. We’ll go by foot. I’ll grab a bow.”

Jack looked excited. “Race ye’,” he said with a wink, before dropping and sliding down the roof with ease. Felix wouldn’t be outdone. He did the same, letting the sloped tiles carry him down. Felix swung off the edge of the roof, knowing the balcony beneath would catch him while Jack hesitated in his ignorance of the castle. Though Jack had started his descent first, Felix had been the one to win. When Jack landed beside him, Felix sent Jack a grin of his own. For a moment, with the golden light of the party spilling across their flesh, Jack froze and stared, caught off guard once again by Felix. Felix gave him a moment before he couldn’t take the gaze. 

“Like what you see?” Felix asked, throwing Jack’s words back at him. 

Felix’s heart fluttered when Jack readily replied, “More than anything.” Then Jack nodded his head outwards. “Lead the way, my prince.”

. . .

The woods were quiet, untouched by the rowdiness of the city. The darkness encroached everything, making Felix at ease, moving silently through the branches, swinging through the heights. Felix himself, as royalty, was a descendant of Freyr, the god of these lands, and that gave him a special way with the world around him. His parents and sister had forgone this connection, and Felix was the first in generations to embrace his heritage again. For that, the wights had blessed him with a special way through the world. Nothing insane, nothing inhumane, just— more. It was what made Felix stand out as one of the best. He could outrun and outmaneuver any of his father’s men. He was faster than any man.

All of this didn’t explain how Jack was able to keep up. Maybe he wasn’t as graceful and maybe he wasn’t able to stick to the trees like Felix but, but he was fast and light on his feet in an unnatural way. As far as Felix knew, no one that wasn’t royalty could receive any sort of blessing in their bones. How could Jack have the ability to keep up with Felix when he wasn’t royalty himself?

It didn’t matter. Felix finally had someone who could give him a run, and he was going to enjoy it. At one point, after swinging high above Jack’s head, Felix looked down and saw Jack was— he was gone.

Felix stalled, landing on a branch and searching the dark woods with keen eyes. He saw no movement on the ground, nothing that could—

“Gotcha.”

Felix, to his credit, didn’t make a sound in his fear, but he did string his bow and drop to a lower branch in graceful succession, aiming up at who had suddenly appeared behind him. 

Jack laughed, perched on a branch near the one Felix had rested on. He winked down at Felix, unperturbed by the arrow point aimed at his face. “Now we’re even.”

Felix let the arrow fly. Jack’s eyes went wide in shock as the air beside his ear was disturbed by the projectile. Felix smirked. “Are we?”

“Ye’ could have killed me!”

“I wouldn’t have missed if I’d wanted you dead.” Felix lowered the bow, slinging it around the quiver. His sharp eyes caught sight of a sliver of blue in his peripheral vision. Jack sat up straighter, looking in the same direction with an expression of wonder. “What do you see?” Felix asked, lowering his voice.

“Is that…”

Jack leaped to the next tree, showcasing that unexplained agility that Felix knew wasn’t entirely human. Felix followed him and landed a branch higher than Jack. He could see it now.

A blessed boar, one of the descendants of Freyr’s steed. The boar itself was twice the size of a horse, with veins of blue running along its white sides in depictions of the ancient language. It was pushing its nose through the underbrush, searching for something, likely the mushrooms that it was so fond of. Felix knew this boar in particular, he recognized the patterns. Blessed animals were never hunted. Felix looked at Jack, ready to warn him from harming the creature, but gave pause when he saw the look in Jack’s eyes.

“What is it?” Jack asked, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“She’s a blessed animal,” Felix said. “A descendant of the original lines, back from when the gods roamed the earth. Its bloodline is pure, which is what allows the light you see on its skin. Look at it as— the royalty of its species.”

“Does that mean you and your family are blessed?” Jack asked.

Felix nodded. “On harvest moons and holy days, my eyes and the eyes of my family glow much like her skin.”

Jack looked to him with more of that reverence he seemed so willing to give Felix. “What can the boar do?”

Felix frowned. “Don’t the Gauls have magi of their own?”

“We do, but it’s— it’s in the trees and the dirt and the sky and the water. It’s not in the animals. And what creatures there are that do have _draíocht_ — they aren’t exactly allies of my father and his kingdom.”

Felix felt sorry for him. “Let me show you.” He dropped to the floor and stood in front of the boar, palm out. She lifted her head, grunted a greeting to him almost lazily. When Felix didn’t take his leave, she turned to face him. She pressed her nose into his palm, snuffled, and then let out another grunt. She turned away again, showing Felix her flank, and waited. “Come down,” Felix called out to Jack. “She’ll take us.”

Jack dropped to the forest floor with a look of bewilderment. “Take us where?”

“I already told you I would show you.” Felix climbed atop her back and then offered Jack a lift. Jack took it, his hand warm in Felix’s grip. Jack gave him this sideways grin as Felix hoisted him up. “You know how to ride, right?” Felix asked him.

Jack laughed as he sat behind Felix and wrapped his arms around Felix’s waist. Then he did this thing with his hips, rolling them forward into Felix. “Of course I can ride— does this position suit ye’, my prince?”

Felix choked on his tongue. He glared at Jack over his shoulder. “This boar is a sacred being, please have some tact.”

“I wouldn’t want to offend your culture!” Jack laughed, loud and happy. His arm around Felix’s waist tightened and Felix could feel his breath on his neck. “Show me something amazing, Felix.”

Felix rolled his eyes and turned to face ahead so Jack wouldn’t see the smile he was trying to hide. He pat the boar's neck, and she started to move, carrying them through the forest at a relaxed gait. This close to the boar, Felix could hear the singing of her magi, the blue lighting the world around them.

Jack was a firm, living presence along Felix’s spin, and even for Felix’s talk of respect around the sacred boar, he couldn’t help his thoughts from straying. Jack had made his intentions rather vague on what he truly wanted from Felix, but Felix felt he wasn’t wrong to assume that Jack _wanted_ him. The idea made Felix’s cheeks burn, his chest twist in anticipation. The way Jack had just moved his hips—

“Is that a waterfall?”

Felix had been so caught up in his perverted thoughts that he hadn’t even heard the sound Jack was referring too. He knew exactly where the boar was taking them, so it wasn’t like he’d needed to be alert for any sort of danger. He was safe in these woods. But Jack didn’t know that.

“It is,” Felix affirmed with a hum, harmonizing with the singing of the boar’s marks. “One of the eighteen in this part of the country. Many of the falls were created when Freyr dragged his sword through the land, changing the shape of the world itself as a testament to his dedication to his beloved.”

“Seems like a lot of work,” Jack murmured, leaning into Felix even more. “Was she worth it?”

“I think she was,” Felix replied. “To earn the love of a god is not a simple feat.”

The boar brought them out of the trees and into the clearing the river had made. The fall that poured into the river was high above their heads, almost as tall as the towers of the castle. The water was clean and pure, reflecting the moon like a mirror. The boar stopped, lowering herself to the ground. Felix slipped off her back and pulled Jack down with him. He found himself reluctant to lose Jack’s arm around his waist. 

“This is beautiful,” Jack said, sounding like he was trying to be fair. After all, Felix was sure they had falls in his country too. This wasn’t the amazing thing Jack had asked to see. Felix smirked set his bow and quiver to the side, and then pulled off his shirt without explanation. Jack’s eyes went wide with interest as Felix tossed the light cotton he’d changed into aside. “But this— this is much more pleasing on the eyes.”

Felix actually laughed at that. He threw his shirt into Jack’s face and then stepped out of his trousers, leaving himself in just his undergarment, comfortable fabric that left little to the imagination. As Jack freed himself from the shirt, he went glassy-eyed as he looked to Felix again. “Please tell me this is the amazing thing you intended for me to see.”

“Believe it or not, no.” Felix stepped into the water. It was warm despite the cold air around them. “Strip down, Jack. We’re going in there.” Jack looked incredulous as he followed Felix’s pointed finger towards the fall itself. But he took off his shirt regardless and waded into the water after Felix. Felix didn’t ask why he still wore his trousers. “Stand fast,” Felix told him. “The water can hit hard.”

He pushed upstream, the water just below his waist, and ducked his head as he entered the veil of the falls. The water was still warm but felt like it was bruising his fair skin regardless. Holding his breath against the force was no small task. He reached out blindly behind himself and took the meat of Jack’s shoulder in his grip, pulling Jack in after him. Felix passed underneath the fall with Jack just behind and burst into the cavern behind with a gasp for air that echoed. 

Behind the falls, the water pooled and churned lazily inside the cavern. In the center, rock jut upwards in a makeshift, hollow island, that held a clear spring with water unlike the waters surrounding it. Small pillars of light danced lazily around the spring, wights that lived in the spring celebrating the moonlight that spilled in from the opening far above their heads that shone down in large shafts into the spring. 

“What on earth…”

Jack’s soft exclamation of wonder had Felix smiling proudly. This spring wasn’t well known, long forgotten by Felix’s people, so it was really a sanctuary for himself. Felix waded through the water to the rock island, climbing atop and moving to stand at the edge the spring. 

The wights clamored around Felix, pulling gently at his hair and limbs, trying to bring him into the spring. Felix chuckled softly at their eagerness and held out his hand, letting one of the wights hover above his fingertips. The lights of magi floated around him, happy to have him back. Felix turned to look back at his guest.

Jack was staring at him with the same wonder he’d given the spring. Felix blushed underneath his gaze and cleared his throat before offering his hand. Jack took it and Felix pulled him onto the island, to stand next to him beside the spring. Jack hadn’t looked away from him. Felix hummed a soft tune and the wights took his prompting, moving to Jack to explore the newcomer. Jack, to his credit, didn’t flinch as they grazed his skin and played with his unruly hair. If anything, he smiled. “What do your people call them?”

“Wights,” Felix replied.

“Where I am from, they are wisps.”

“Are they part of the cruel magi?”

Jack shook his head. “They are peaceful. They don’t like many people, though.”

“These are the same,” Felix said, watching the wights explore Jack and find whatever made him different from Felix. “They don’t like humans or many other kinds of creatures. But they like me. And, apparently, you.”

Jack turned to Felix and smiled brighter than the wights. “Do ye’ think?”

Felix’s breath caught with the beauty of Jack’s smile. “I know.”

Jack smiled even wider. Then he looked to the spring. The wights got their fill and went back to their lazy dancing around the waters. “What makes this so different? It looks strange.”

“This spring has been blessed with blood spilt by Freyr in battle,” Felix explained. “It’s water is as sacred as the boar. There are supposedly many springs like this, but very few of them have been found. You have to be welcomed by the spirits that defend it to be given access and welcome. These wights are capable of burning flesh with their touch. I’m pleased to see you’re unscathed.” When Jack looked alarmed, Felix laughed and winked. “Come— bathe with me. These waters have a purity to them. Aches and pains are soothed away.”

Felix stepped into the waters, and the ripples glowed blue like the wights and the boar had. His skin tingled and his body relaxed as all soreness of his muscles was healed. He submerged himself, the water just shy of five feet deep, coming to Felix’s shoulders. He looked back at Jack, expecting him to follow. Felix frowned at the hesitation on Jack’s face. “Is something wrong?”

“I can’t—” Jack cut himself off. Then, he reached to his trousers, letting them drop with some work, as they were wet and clung to his skin. 

Whatever appreciation Felix could have given was caught in his throat when he saw the bloody bandages that were wrapped around Jack’s right thigh. It was a deep wound, definitely something not received on accident or by an animal. “Is there a war my people don’t know of?” Felix asked softly. He wasn’t one to scoff at battle wounds, but he hated to imagine the violence that could be coming. 

Jack smiled tightly. “The Britons are more of a menace than ye’ would think. It is one of the reasons why my— why King John has come to see your father. We don’t want a war, but— well, it sometimes seems like it’s unavoidable.”

“Come into the water,” Felix prompted. “Your wound will be healed.” He marveled at Jack’s pain tolerance, for the man had followed him so skillfully through the woods despite this injury. He wondered how fast Jack would be on his feet without this injury. When Jack still didn’t come into the spring, Felix frowned. “Are you a glutton for the agony? It can—”

“If these waters are pure, I wouldn’t want my blood to taint them,” Jack choked out, sounding oddly pained. 

Felix sighed softly in understanding. “Your blood is not worth any less than mine,” Felix told him. “While people may be obsessed with stature, we are all human in the eyes of the gods. You won’t ruin anything by allowing yourself to be healed. Freyr loves all of us— he wouldn’t want you to suffer.”

Jack hesitated for only a moment longer. When he finally nodded, Felix went back to the edge and pat the ground. “Sit,” he said. “We need to remove the bandages. The water has to touch the injury, untampered.”

Jack sat on the ledge, his calves touching the water. His brow furrowed at the tingling sensation, but he didn’t say anything. Felix took Jack’s thigh in his hands— marveled for a moment at the strength he felt in the muscle and how toned his entire leg was— and began to unwrap the bandages, lifting Jack’s leg with care and unwinding the cloth. He couldn’t look up and meet Jack’s eyes. His fingers were so close to the sensitive parts of Jack’s body between his legs. One stray slip of his hand and he would touch—

“Your skin is surprisingly soft for someone who uses a bow like you,” Jack commented idly. “How on earth do ye’ manage it?’

“This spring,” Felix admitted. “I tend to spend more time in the company of these wights than my own people.”

“You’re more _draíocht_ than human,” Jack said. “I love it.”

Felix laughed softly, oddly comforted by the easy acceptance. He finished undressing the wound and gave pause, looking at the wound more closely. Some sort of blade had torn through the flesh and part of the muscle. It was ugly and bloody and recent. Felix worried they’d been attacked on their journey into Felix’s country. He ran his fingertips carefully along the jagged flesh. Jack’s muscles jumped under his touch, responsive, thankfully. Felix bit his lip, hating the pain he knew had to be coming from such a wound. He bent his head and placed a kiss on the inside of Jack’s thigh, just above his knee. Jack’s breath caught audibly as Felix held the leg fast and gently lied it back down. 

“Arms around my neck,” Felix told Jack. “The healing— it can make even the strongest of men a little dizzy. I don’t want you to drown.”

Jack looked down at Felix with dark eyes, his red lips parted gently in an enticing manner. Felix swallowed hard and took a step back, waiting for Jack to reach out and hold onto Felix. “Into the water, Jack,” Felix prompted gently. “It’ll be okay. I’ll keep you safe.”

Jack smiled breathlessly and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Felix’s neck as told. His biceps were on either side of Felix’s head with how close he was holding him. Felix pressed a kiss to the muscle, feeling any advance he made would be accepted. Jack let out a low hum and Felix could feel it in Jack’s chest as their bodies were pressed together. Jack hooked his chin over Felix’s shoulder. Felix took careful steps back, bringing Jack down into the spring. The man’s warm skin became slick with the water and Felix shut his eyes so he wouldn’t look down the planes of Jack’s spine and be given even more temptation. 

Jack went rigid in his arms, a sharp gasp ghosting across Felix’s ear. Then there was this full body tremble and Jack squirmed in Felix’s arms. The healing powers of these waters really did have a strong effect on the best of them. Felix overstepped and the momentum brought Jack forward into Felix, their hips colliding underwater. Felix could feel Jack’s hardness against his leg and knew Jack could feel his own. But—

“There is something you must know,” Felix said, clearing his throat as he tried to distance their bodies again. “Freyr is more than the god of man— he is also a god of fertility. So any feelings of lust you may feel may not actually be your own.” He didn’t want to take advantage of Jack, especially when the other man was so trusting. “The feeling will pass as the wound heals, I promise.”

Jack was quiet for a moment before he pulled his head back so he could look into Felix’s eyes. The water glowed beneath them, casting long shadows across the handsome features of Jack's face. The color of Jack’s irises was magnified by the unnatural light. Their faces were barely an inch apart. Felix held his breath because he didn’t want to give his desire away. While Jack was possibly under the effect of the water, Felix had bathed in this spring more times than he could count. His feelings were his own, meaning his actions would be his responsibility. 

“Do not misunderstand,” Jack said, his voice low and intimate in the space between them. “The only thing that kept me from taking ye’ atop that roof— when you first bested me in glorious fashion— is the very wound your god has healed. I am under no influence except for the lust I’ve felt for ye’ since you held your knife above my eye and pinned me down with your body.”

Jack surged forward and pressed their lips together, parting Felix’s lips with his own and pushing his searching tongue inside. Felix gasped into the kiss, swept away by the audacity of it. As a prince, Felix had never been kissed like this before. The men he had been with had been demure and submissive, not wanting to rile up and challenge a prince. But Jack kissed him like he wanted Felix to start a fight or give chase. Jack kissed Felix like he wanted to devour him and it was unlike anything Felix had ever experienced. He was grateful to be in the healing waters that strengthened his muscles, otherwise, his legs would have given out in the face of Jack’s passion. 

Jack broke away from Felix with a gasp but kept their foreheads pressed together. He gave Felix a moment of breath before delving back in, plundering Felix’s mouth. He was so foreignly aggressive that Felix almost felt virginal. He whimpered into Jack, meeting Jack’s tongue with his own as well as he could. Jack’s arms left Felix’s neck, sliding down Felix’s shoulder blades and pressing into the dimples above the swell of his ass. His fingertips danced along the hem of Felix’s undergarments, teasing and tugging at the cloth like he wanted Felix to know he intended to tear it from Felix’s body. Then Jack’s tongue twisted in a way that set Felix’s imagination alight. Felix was starting to see stars. He needed air again. 

He yanked himself away and almost stumbled, the water doing little for his ability to stand any longer. His own arms around Jack’s waist were restless with a need to touch. “Jack, I—”

“Would your god see it as sacrilegious if ye’ fucked me in his spring?” Jack asked. 

Felix’s cock throbbed to the point where he couldn’t ignore it any longer. He tightened his grip on Jack’s body and brought their hips together. Both men moaned in unison at the friction, warmth spreading through Felix’s bones at the prospect of relief. Jack then grinned and laughed breathlessly, arching a fine brow. “Is that a no?”

“I think he’d welcome it,” Felix replied, a little breathless himself. “How would you have me?”

Jack grinned and brought his hands up to Felix’s shoulders to hoist himself up higher. The weightlessness of the water made him easy to support. “Like this,” Jack said. “Think you’re strong enough, my prince?”

“You really think I can’t handle you?” Felix replied, hearing the challenge in Jack’s voice. “Didn’t I already dominate you atop the roof? Or do you want more?”

Jack leaned in and kissed Felix again. “More,” he murmured into Felix’s lips. “Always. I will always want more from you, my prince. A man like you— I am only human. I cannot be satiated.”

“Then I’ll have to do my best to satisfy.” 

Jack grinned, wide and almost feral, before hoisting himself up even higher with Felix’s help and getting his legs wrapped around Felix’s waist, His strong thighs clenched underneath Felix’s ribs, showing the power that those tone legs really held. Felix thought back to how Jack had bragged about being able to _ride_ and didn’t find any doubt in the possibility of Jack’s abilities. With legs like these, he could probably handle the entire job himself. 

“You’re strong,” Felix murmured, looking up at Jack before leaning in to press his lips against the corner of the man’s mouth. Felix used his leverage of holding Jack to roll their hips together, feeling Jack’s hardness against him, their shafts standing tall together. “So very strong. What do you do for the king?”

“Fight his battles,” Jack said, barely about to speak past the moan that slipped by. “Win his wars. I stand beneath and beside him. He is my king and my—” Jack cut himself off, a small noise almost like a whimper overcoming his voice. “You do intend to do more than tease, right?”

Felix smirked, pressing his lips to the soft skin just beneath Jack’s ear. “You’re not completely undressed— I can’t be expected to do much else, can I?”

Jack growled and used the strength of his legs alone to lift himself a little higher and unwrap his arms from around Felix’s neck to pull his garments down the swell of his ass. Felix barely noticed that the bloody wound was now gone from Jack’s flesh, only the light colored skin of a scar left behind. Felix knew that would disappear soon as well. Jack reached down and underneath, bending his spine to take what was left of Felix’s clothes and yank them down. The movement was sluggish in the water, but the water itself was warm and pleasant around Felix’s now naked body. Jack righted himself again and looked at Felix expectantly. “Don’t ye’ want me?” he asked with an impish grin. “Or should I find another dashing prince to give me what I need?”

“Have you done this before?” Felix asked, forgoing Jack’s playful talk to see to caring for him. “If you haven’t, I want—”

“Fuck off.” Jack released an arm again and reached behind himself. He made a soft noise, eyes falling shut. It took Felix a moment to realize what he was doing. “The water—” Jack cut himself off with a breathless laugh. “By the gods, is it like it’s own easy way in? It doesn’t— there’s no stretch.”

Felix’s mouth went dry at the implications. He felt Jack’s body move with the thrust of his own fingers. “Fucking— what do you call it? Magi?” Jack smiled wider and leaned in to kiss Felix. The press of their lips cleared the haziness of Felix’s thoughts in knowing that Jack was touching himself like this in Felix’s arms. Jack moaned softly, and Felix couldn’t resist. He risked an arm to search under Jack with his touch, finding his way between Jack’s legs and feeling where Jack’s fingers disappeared into his body. Felix traced the edge of Jack’s entrance with his own fingers, grinned at the way Jack’s breath hitched. “I should have no problem taking ye’,” Jack told him. “Your god seems to want to encourage us.”

“My god knows how to please his people,” Felix agreed. Jack’s fingers were picking up pace and Felix kissed Jack’s neck, tasting the moans rattling in Jack’s throat. Then he dipped his finger inside along Jack, a thrill of pride going through him when Jack gasped in pleasure. Jack’s body opened easily around the added digit and Felix really did think the water had something to do with it. The relaxation of every muscle in the body was turning out to be useful in more way than one. But Jack still felt deliciously tight around Felix’s fingers and his cock throbbed with the anticipation. 

“I’m ready,” Jack breathed, a shudder running through him and into Felix. “Please, my prince. I need you.”

Felix pushed Jack back through the water, wedging the man between his body and the wall of the spring, bringing Jack up higher so he could get Jack in just the right angle. Felix was so hard that he was seeing stars beyond the wights that stilled danced lazily around their coupling, his body wound tightly enough to fight the peaceful effects of the water soaking into his skin. Jack gasped as his back collided with the stone. He sent Felix a breathless grin. He knew exactly how strung out Felix was. 

“Your control is slipping, my prince,” Jack murmured as Felix took himself in his hand to position his cock underneath Jack’s entrance. The man must have felt more of a numbing effect than Felix was because he didn’t even flinch. He probably didn’t even notice. “Am I to blame or do ye’ get this excited for every suspicious character that follows you into the woods?”

Felix took a handful of Jack’s hair and yanked his head back, exposing that long, pale neck. Jack’s breath caught, his pupils blowing wide. “Say my name,” Felix ordered his voice rumbling through his own chest into Jack’s. “I’m not your prince. I’m not anything. Now say my name.”

_”Felix.”_

Felix took his cock by the base and pushed inside Jack, taking in the way Jack’s eyes went wide and his jaw went slack, though he didn’t make a sound. His body took Felix in like he was made for Felix, trembling around his cock, clenching and relaxing like he didn’t understand what he needed to do. The waters had to be wreaking havoc with the habits Jack had made when having sex. There was no pain, no ache of being stretched. It was only the pleasure of being filled. 

Felix smirked and started to move, nearly laughing when he saw Jack’s eyes get even wider in almost wonder. Felix thrust in steadily, grinning when Jack suddenly cried out and clenched even tighter around Felix. “Found it,” Felix declared haughtily before leaning in to kiss Jack’s open mouth. “You may have skill in riding— I’m no amateur myself.”

“Felix,” Jack whimpered, into his throat, trembling in Felix’s arms. “It feels—” Jack cut himself off as Felix brushed that spot again. His pace was slow, and Felix knew it had to be agonizing. Jack started rolling his hips down, urging Felix to move quicker with his body. “Oh gods,” Jack moaned into Felix, unable to meet much of Felix’s kiss with the pleasure hazing his mind. “Your god—”

“You feel so good,” Felix murmured, reveling in the heat of Jack’s body. His agonizingly slow pace was more for his own benefit than anything. He didn’t want this to end too quickly. He wanted Jack to fall apart first. “Do you feel it, Jack?”

“Oh gods!” Jack cried out, squirming with Felix’s next thrust. He tore away from the kiss, wrapping his arms around Felix’s neck to hide his face behind Felix’s ear. His nails dug into Felix’s back and Felix was almost sure he’d draw blood. Felix thrust inside again and Jack _shook._ “More, Felix,” he begged, panting into Felix’s neck. “I’ll do anything, please—”

Felix pushed Jack firmly into the wall and took Jack by the hips to snap upwards. Jack’s entire body jumped with the force of the thrust and the water sloshed about, spilling over the edges. Jack moaned helplessly, trembling. He clung even harder, marring Felix’s back. Felix laughed again and thrust harder. Jack practically screamed, clawing up Felix’s back. He spasmed around Felix’s cock 

“Cum, cum,” Jack babbled, trembling. “I’m gonna cum, Felix, please.”

Felix gripped Jack’s hips hard enough to bruise and slammed inside, setting can overwhelming pace. Jack writhed and lobbed hard as he came untouched between their bodies, scrabbling for purchase in Felix’s skin. He fell back as his back arched, letting Felix see the way his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Felix kissed him again, tasting Jack’s ecstasy as Jack struggled to come down from his powerful orgasm. “You’re so good,” he moaned into Jack’s mouth. “So good, Jack, fuck.”

Jack whimpered, sounding almost drugged. Then Jack did this thing with his hips, rolling down onto Felix’s cock. He said, “Cum inside me, my prince— fill me,” and Felix couldn’t stop himself. He came hard, thrusting unsteadily into Jack with the waves. Jack hung off of Felix’s neck, watching him with dark, hooded eyes as Felix breathed through the last of it. Jack pulled his nails from Felix’s back to drag them through Felix’s hair like he meant to soothe him. 

“May I court you?”

Felix wasn’t sure if his ears were playing tricks on him in his post-orgasmic haze. His brow furrowed. “What was that?”

“Ye’ say you’re nothing,” Jack said, still stroking Felix’s hair. “That you are useless for your family or whatever. That you’re just moving through life without much purpose. Let me give ye’ some sort of meaning. Let me court you.”

Felix laughed. Then he realized Jack wasn’t joking. Felix’s cheeks went pink and he cleared his throat, trying to cover his embarrassment. 

“Has no one shown interest before?” Jack asked in gentle confusion.

“No one wants the second-in-line, magi-loving prince,” Felix admitted. 

“I do,” Jack said. “May I court you?”

Felix paused, trying to picture his future. There was nothing except a spinning blackness, an uncertainty that he couldn’t navigate on his own. He wouldn’t know what kind of future he could have, and he doubted he ever would because no one was going to help him. He had always been a little scared to think ahead because not knowing and not having any security was terrifying. But if he had someone— if he had Jack—

“Yes,” Felix said. “I mean— yes. You may. Please do?” Felix winced. “If you had any doubts on whether or not this has happened to me before, I’m sure you realize it to be the truth now.”

Jack smiled, brightly and real, before using his grip in Felix’s hair to pull him in for a kiss. “Thank you, my prince,” he said. “I swear I will make you happy.” Jack’s legs unwrapped from around Felix’s waist and lifted off Felix’s cock, then he groaned softly at the relief that he found in his limbs when it would normally be sore. Jack reached down into the water. He smiled again, a little softer now. “Hardly even a scar. Your god really does known how to please his people.”

. . .

“The nerve of you, Prince Felix!”

Upon returning him, Felix was greeted with the angry exclamations of his parents, the king and queen of these lands, wonderful and magnanimous and oh so merciful, except when it came to their son. Felix and Jack had had no choice but to enter the castle through the main gate and the main court, where his father would weigh opinion and law. His mother and father were seated in their true thrones, scowling at him. King John was standing beside his father. Felix opened his mouth to explain when King John chided Felix’s companion.

“Prince Seán, your habit of sneaking off will be the death of me!”

Felix stopped in his tracks, his brain working even more slowly than before. He looked between King John and the man at his side— who he’d just had genuinely rather religious experience within the form of fantastic, world-changing sex and had also accepted the courtship of— and slowly put two and two together. “What,” he intoned rather stupidly when the equation added up to seven rather than four.

“Father!” Jack cried out excitedly. “I want to announce my intended courtship of the prince!”

“The prince?!” King John repeated incredulously. “But you were supposed to go for the girl!”

“Yes, yes, I understand, but—” Jack cut off as he just gestured to Felix like that was ample explanation. “And as crowned prince of my country, I do reserve the right t’ court whoever I desire so long as it be a member of likewise royalty while having diplomatic relations in mind.”

“Wait a moment,” Felix said. 

“Yes, but…” King McLoughlin trailed off with a heavy sigh before turning to Felix’s parents. “I apologize for the prince’s rather brash behavior. I have another son.”

Felix’s parents trade a quick glance before King Ulf gave an almost nonchalant shrug. “I am sure Fanny would love to meet your other boy. If anything, having an even marriage between both countries would only further strengthen our bonds and probably scare away anyone foolish enough to take on the both of us, twice-fold.” King Ulf turned to Jack and gave him a shallow bow of his head. “I give you my blessing. May your courtship of my son bring you both happiness.”

“Hold on,” Felix said. 

Jack turned to Felix with the widest smile he’d seen from him tonight. He took Felix’s hand in his grip and squeezed tightly. “I hope ye’ don’t feel any ill will towards me for keeping my identity a secret. I’ve always had this aversion to most royalty for their feelings of superiority to their fellow man. I had to see if you were legitimate.”

“Jack, I—” Felix cut himself off. “S-Seán,” he corrected. “You are the crowned prince— remember what I told you? I’m wasted. You’re making a mistake. 

Seán shook his head. “How you treat those who should be beneath you is a true testament to your character, my beloved prince. I have never given my loyalty to anyone that does not understand every man and woman to be his equal, in life and death. My prince.” Seán took Felix’s hand and placed a warm kiss to the top of his palm. “Allow me courtship of ye’ and I will follow you to the ends of the earth. You are in true understanding in the ways of the world and the only person I would trust to rule beside me.”

Felix stared at Seán in wonder. He remembered the sudden courage he’d felt in facing the unknown future if he’d pictured Seán at his side. “Fuck it,” Felix blurted out. “Okay. Court me.”

Seán laughed and leaned in to kiss Felix’s cheek next. “Mark my words,” he said. “There will be no wasted moment from you. Ye’ give me everything I could have wanted and more. And I believe I can even go as far as saying that we have the blessing of your god along with your father and mother.” He looked to Felix with something that Felix was almost scared to label as love. “There is nothing but happiness in my future so long as you are at my side, showing me the ways of the world that I have been blind to. Make me see the wonder of these lands and I will see it reflected twice over in your eyes.”


End file.
